1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cationic thickening composition. More specifically, the composition is a polysaccharide or polyol which is reacted with a hydroxylated quaternary ammonium halide wherein the quaternary ammonium halide contains a long chain aliphatic group containing at least 6 carbon atoms. The resulting compositions function to increase the viscosity of an aqueous solution and have widespread uses, for example, in cosmetics and in oil recovery.
2. Technology Description
Natural and synthetic polymers containing hydroxy groups have been used as thickeners for foods, coatings, paints, explosive slurries, oil well fluids, cosmetics and other personal care products, and many other functional applications.
One class of polymers that have been widely used as suspending and viscosity agents are polygalactomannans. Polygalactomannans are polysaccharides composed principally of galactose and mannose units and are usually found in the endosperm of leguminous seeds such as guar, locust bean, honey locust, flame tree, and the like. The polygalactomannans may be used in either their natural form or may be substituted with one or more functional groups (e.g., carboxymethyl group). In practice, to thicken a fluid the polygalactomannans may either be added by themselves, or with other viscosity modifiers such as other polygalactomannans, xanthan gum and the like.
Other polymers proposed for use as thickening agents include unmodified and modified starches, methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, polyols such as polyvinyl alcohol, glycols, glycerols, polyacrylamide, polyvinylpyrrolidone, xanthan gum and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,467,647 discloses polysaccharides containing both cationic and anionic substituents. Amongst the starting polysaccharides which are then modified according to this patent include starches, locust bean gum (carob gum) and guar gum. Suggested cationic substituents include primary, secondary or tertiary amino groups, quaternary ammonium, sulphonium or phospinium groups. The reference suggests that cationic groups may be introduced into the polysaccharide molecule by reacting the polysaccharide with any of the following reagents: ethylene imine, N-(2-hydroxyethyl) ethylene imine, cyanamide, beta morpholinoethylchloride, beta diethyl aminoethylchloride, 3-diethyl amino 1,2-epoxypropane dimethyl aminoethyl methacrylate, N-(2,3-epoxypropyl) trimethyl ammonium chloride, (4-chlorobutene-2)trimethyl ammonium chloride, 2-chloroethyl methyl ethyl sulphonium iodide and 2-chloroethyl tributylphosphonium chloride.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,760,881 discloses well treating fluids which are prepared with complexes formed by the reaction of aliphatic quaternary ammonium compounds with water-soluble compounds such as monosaccharides, disaccharides, trisaccharides, polysaccharides, and long chain synthetic hydroxylated polymers, such as polygalactomannans. Preferred quaternary substituents include trimethyl alkyl ammonium chlorides, wherein alkyl represents a long chain alkyl group having between about 6 and about 18 carbon atoms. The reference does not disclose nor suggest that the quaternary ammonium halide be hydroxylated. A preferred polygalactomannan mentioned is guar gum.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,527 discloses a water soluble hemicellulose material made soluble by the reaction of a hemicellulose with an adduct comprising 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride or glycidyltrimethylammoniumchloride. The hemicellulose is made water soluble to effect its disposal from waste effluent streams of pulp mills.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,307 discloses cationic polygalactomannan compositions. The compositions are prepared by reacting a polygalactomannan with a quaternary ammonium halide compound. The reactant quaternary ammonium halide compound contains three alkyl groups containing between one and six carbon atoms and one alkenyl group containing between one and six carbon atoms. An example of one such reactant is 4-chloro-2-butenyl trimethylammoniumchloride. The degree of substitution on the polygalactomannan compound ranges between 0.05 and 2.5.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,264,322; 4,403,360 and 4,454,617 disclose dye compositions for textile fibers. The compositions comprise an admixture of immiscible gel phases, wherein one gel phase is thickened with a cationic gelling agent and wherein a second gel phase, which is dispersed in the first gel phase, is thickened with an anionic gelling agent. Suggested cationic gelling agents for the first phase include cationic polygalactomannans containing quaternary ammonium groups. Specific examples of such cationic reactants include 2,3-epoxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride, hydroxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride, tetramethylammonium chloride and bromide, benzyltrimethylammonium chloride and bromide, tetraethylammonium chloride and bromide, tetrabutylammonium chloride and bromide, methylpyridinium chloride and bromide, benzylpyridinium chloride and bromide, trimethyl-p-chlorobenzylammonium chloride and bromide, and triethanolmethylammonium chloride and bromide.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,282 discloses a dry process for the production of cationic galactomannans by reaction of the galactomannan starting material with an alkylidene epoxide in the presence of water and in the presence of finely divided hydrophilic silicic acid. The preferred alkylidene epoxide is 2,3-epoxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride. The reference further discloses that the reaction between the galactomannan and the epoxide be carried out in the presence of 0.5 to 5% of 2,3-epoxypropyldodecyldimethylammonium acetate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,464 discloses derivatized polygalactomannan compounds. The compounds are prepared by reacting a polygalactomannan with a derivatizing agent, followed by the addition of an aluminum salt to crosslink the surface of the resulting compound. One class of derivatizing agents disclosed is quaternary ammonium alkylating agents. Specific examples of such agents are 2,3-epoxypropyl trimethylammonium chloride and 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride.
EP 0 405 664 discloses personal care compositions, and specifically liquid and solid soap compositions containing a cationic polymer which has a non-labile bulky amine moiety. Specific examples of preferred bulky amine polymers include the following: ##STR2## These polymers have a degree of substitution reported to be ranging from about 0.5 to about 4, preferably between 1 and 2.5 and are used to replace comparable quaternary polymers which do not contain the bulky amine moiety and are alleged to be malodorous. As these levels of substitution it is nearly impossible to manufacture the molecules, and where possible, the molecules are extremely expensive to manufacture.
Despite the above, there still is a need for compositions which demonstrate enhanced viscosity behavior.